La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Aug 5-12, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
A good start on the first day for Frank Kunze and Lee Carlson, our long-time amigos who came back to the beach with some dorado and a pompano that ended up on the grill at our Fubar Cocina Cantina.
Captain Geraldo stands behind Matt Cirillo as he poses with a big long roosterfish just off the beach at Punta Arenas. The fish was released.
Lorraine McDonald from Utah is all smiles with Captain Armando and her dorado.
Our buddy, Kip Slaugh, from Salt Lake City, holds up a huge roosterfish caught in the surf off Punta Arenas on live bait. Kip released the big slugger.
Dave from Dutch John, Utah, has a sailfish to his day! The fish was released.
Thumbs-up from Captain Jorge with Sommer Adams from San Diego on her first trip to visit us. Nice rack of dorado to start the week for her!
That’s a big one! Another rooster for a quick photo and release!
Elena Galvan and Steve Ortega visited us for the first time and put some dorado into the box. Standing on the beach at Bahia Muertos.
Sue Slaugh has been with us for many years from Salt Lake City and has herself a dorado on the gaff headed for the grill!
From the Los Angeles area on a first-time visit, Daniel Ahman and Jimmy Stathis pose with Captain Victor and a nice batch. of dorado on the cleaning table.
Kip with another dorado from the blue waters at Bahia Muertos!
It was an OK week. Honestly, nothing spectacular. That’s the bottom line. Not much more to say about it.
Dorado were surely the focus of attention with 90% of the catch being mahi mahi between 5-20 pounds. But, it was a weird week. For all of you out there that think the full-moon is a terrible time to fish…last week’s full-moon fishing was far better than this week!
The week started out fairly OK. Dorado, pargo, snapper, cabrilla. Even some billfish. Thankfully, the big roosterfish picked up some of the slack. However, no wahoo. No tuna. No dog-tooth.
But, then as the week went on, the last several days, it just kind of shut off. Even the dorado took a powder and got lockjaw. We had one day of very strong winds that bounced everyone and turned the waters over and even after the waters flattened the subsequent days really didn’t produce much and captains and anglers really had to work hard for their fish. Las Arenas was definitely better than fishing out’ve La Paz and although summer-like conditions are only now just starting to hit, the waters are remarkably cooler than normal. Hopefully, the fish get with the program again real quick.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 27-Aug. 5, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Full moon bull! Lynn Crooks from Sparks, NV, battled this big bull “until her arms fell off” but with the help of Captain Joel, got it to the boat! Fillets were eaten here in town that night, but she donated the rest of the meat to local folks.
Grins and smiles from Roger Meyer (head) and Joe Duryea (tail) from Phoenix, AZ. Roger caught this slugger of a roosterfish just off the point at Punta Arenas with the Tailhunter Fleet using live bait. It was his biggest and was released.
Some good eating pompano in the hands of Jake Oosterman. Members of the jack family related to yellowtail, roosterfish, jack crevalle and amberjack.
You do not have to go very far to get big fish. With the rocks of Punta Perrico just over his shoulder, Dave Roos, from Escalon CA, is pretty happy with this dandy roosterfish. It’s alot bigger than it looks as Dave is NFL lineman sized 6’3”. He released the rooster.
Personal best roosterfish for our amigo, Bernie Crooks visiting us from Sparks, NV with Captain Moncho. That’s the beach at Punta Arenas behind them. Bernie released the big rooster.
Mauricio made the trip up from Cabo to visit Rancho Costa at Bahia Muertos and was out with Gary Wagner when he put this dorado on the deck.
…and here’s Gary at his place there in Bahia Muertos with a tuna he told me ended up as ceviche at Rancho Costa.
Darrell Manginelli visits us once or twice a year from Camarillo CA and started his trip out finding a nice school or dorado.
It was a good week for big roosters! Lynn back on the board with Captain Moncho and her own big rooster for a quick photo and release.
Nothing prettier than a lit up dorado in the water!
Like everything else in the world, this definitely is not typical summer-time fishing. For sure, this isn’t typical August fishing. Temperatures are cooler with day time highs in the low 90’s. Humidity is down. It can be breezy. So, it’s been rather more pleasant as far as being in town. But, waters are also cooler. That’s not to say fishing is bad. There’s definitely action to be had. It’s just very different.
Oh…and although I’m not a big “full moon” believer, combined with other variables like temperatures, winds and water clarity, can make a big difference so that surely had some bearing on this week’s past bite.
So…
Instead of mostly pelagic species typical of this time of year like dorado, tuna, wahoo and billfish…the blue water species…of a normal year, catches have been marked by a variety of fish more characteristic of later spring fishing.
Sure, we’re getting some good bites of dorado there’s some billfish mixed with the occasional tuna and wahoo, but anglers are also still getting big roosterfish up to about 70 pounds these past weeks. At the end of the day, I’m seeing fish boxes with species such as dog-tooth snapper (pargo perro), mullet snapper (pargo list), barred pargo and cabrilla. As well, this past week, there were catches of jack crevalle, yellow snapper, bonito, big triggerfish, pompano and even sierra…a fish we see between November and March when waters are colder.
Bait such as sardines and mackerel and ballyhoo are pretty good this year and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.
ALMOST THERE!
Regretfully, back in March when the quarantine hit La Paz, we had to close our fun and famous Tailhunter Restaurant. It was a sad moment after 12 years of great memories.
However, after almost 2 months of re-model and crazy work with our team, we’ll finally be opening up our FUBAR COCINA CANTINA. It’s not the Tailhunter Restaurant but the closest thing to it…it’s our first floor right on the Malecon waterfront. We’ll have a new expanded street-side dining menu plus full bar featuring our new Bloody Mary Bar.
We’ll have many of your favorites that we had upstairs:
Huge burgers
Street hot dogs
Fish and Chips
Shrimp, Fish and Carne Asada Tacos
Fubar Fries and Loaded Nachos
Your Fish Preparations
…and more!
Hopefully, live music again too!
We’ll also be opening our Sirena Mini-Super Market with beer, sodas, munchies, souveniers plus beach gear as well. Of course, we still have our fish processing plant as well.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of July 6-12, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Not bad for a first-try to get a roosterfish off the bucket list, but Albert Vasquez from Santa Ana CA hefted this big rooster off Las Arenas before releasing it.
Big schools of big jack crevalle are providing lots of action off the sandy beaches. Mateo Saffon from San Diego poses with a tough jack with the sands of Punta Arenas just in the background.
Great colors, great guy! Bennett Clegg fishes with us yearly and loves ultra-light tackle. Not many fish more fun on light tackle than dorado and he hit some nice jags of mahi north of La Paz and limited the box. Check the calm water!
Big smiles and a nice bull for Lorena Balanzar just learning to fish. She’s visiting from San Diego CA and was fishing from Bahia Muertos.
Bennett just takes some great photos! Here he is again with another dorado, but this one taken near Las Arenas on the day when the winds and waves really started to rip it up!
Love this photo! Murray Scott with his first roosterfish while Al Vasquez tangled with the big jack crevalle…cousin to the rooster, but without the fancy headgear. Both fish were released.
Alway fun, no matter the size, but especially if it’s one of your first fish. Lorena holds up a rooster that’s headed back into the water to grow bigger.
Dorado fishing this past week was better for our La Paz fleet as the waters were more protected from the bashing received by south-facing beaches due to Tropical Storm Christina. Al and Murray took for dorado this day and had some fresh fish for dinner cooled up in town.
FISHING
The week started OK, but then hit a bump when Tropical Storm Christina hit southern Baja. It dump some rain on the Cabo area and forced the closure of the port there as well as on the East Cape. Up in La Paz, we didn’t get the rains or flooding, but south-facing beaches got slammed by big waves and high winds and forced everyone to come in early one day and the next day, no one could even push their boats off the beach.
However, with each day after that, waters got clearer and warmer again as the weather settled down .
Good catches of 10-20 pound dorado could be found in various scattered areas between Espirito Santo Island and Cerralvo Island. Inshore fishing for big schools of tough jack crevalle provided plenty of action along with big roosterfish in the 10-50 pound class in the same areas.
We had one wahoo that was hooked and lost so we know they’re around. Also some big pargo were lost in the rocks in the same place that produced some decent-sized cabrilla. We saw marlin again this week, but couldn’t get them to chew then the weather changed and they took a powder. Should be back this coming week.
Sportfishing slowly getting back to speed after the quarantine, but restrictions still exist for other operations which require maximum 30% occupancy and it is expected that the beaches and malecon will still be closed for another week.
TRAVEL
Here’s some observations on my traveling back home here to La Paz from the states…
The plane was half-full. Either because they weren’t sold out or because of social distancing. It looked like couples were kept together, but solo travelers seemed to be seated at least 2 seats away from each other. This was American Airlines.
Everyone on the flight wore masks. Once we were in flight, there was pretty much no interaction with the flight attendants. The days of food and drink service might be a memory. We were given a little bag that had a little bottle of water; a small bag of pretzels and a small packet of hand gel. Just as we were boarding they said any flight less than 900 miles would not have food service and we needed to purchase food and drinks before we got on the plane. Of course, they said that 5 minutes before boarding so no one could get anything.
Landed at Los Cabos Airport and it was eerie. Maybe it was just the time-of-day because it was an early flight, but there was not a single aircraft on the tarmac! There was not a single person on the tarmac. Not baggage handlers, drivers, ground crew or anyone! It was like a zombie movie.
Inside the terminal it was the smoothest I have ever seen. That’s because instead of hundreds of people trying to get through immigration, there were maybe 10 total people. It was a breeze.
Gotta tell you that everyone we ran into had the biggest sincerest smiles. They were really really happy and welcoming and wanted us there. Everyone had a squeeze of anti-bacterial gel in their hands for you as well.
I had to fill out a questionnaire asking the usual…Have I had covid? Have I been around anyone with it? Do I have any symptoms? Etc. etc. I had to sign it, but then no one collected it!
Customs was crazy easy! They just wanted us to come on in! Normally, everyone has to put every piece of luggage on the x-ray machine. You also have to press the “red light/ green light” inspection button. EVERYONE got the GREEN LIGHT and almost no one had to put anything through the x-ray machine. Everyone kept smiling at me saying, “Welcome to Mexico!” I think everyone of them would have hugged me or shook my hands if they could!
Walking out to the shuttles, everyone offers to wipe down your luggage or give you cleaning wipe or offers you some gel!
Looking at the shuttle vans lined up, you have to step in a little tray of antiseptic then onto a mat before you climb into the shuttle.
Almost after everything you touch someone seems to come up behind you and wipe it down. Even with taxi’s and shuttle vans drivers seem to be constantly wiping or spraying antiseptic in their vehicles.
Everyone wears mask and there’s very little griping. People just accept that it’s part of life right now.
Restaurants and hotels and other businesses are very careful to observe the 30% capacity rules. Businesses that don’t get shut down.
Tables are spaced and since there’s not many folks there, service is great and probably some of the best I have seen down here in all my years. They are very attentive.
Traffic is very minimal on the road. On the water, there’s almost no boats. You have the ocean to yourself!
My final word…
After almost 4 months of a quarantine that was much much more rigid than we had in the states, I think no one is taking being able to work or tourism for granted. There’s no unemployment or stimulus checks here. People want and need to work and know how important tourism is to this economy. So, the smiles and welcoming attitudes are genuinely sincere. Nothing and no one is taken for granted.
To me, it seems they are going above-and-beyond and taking extra measures in health and sanitation in regards to tourism here in Baja Sur.
Whether you believe that masks, social distancing, anti-bacterial gels and controlled occupancy does one bit of good, the folks down here want YOU, the traveller and guest that THEY are doing everything they can to assure you that they have as many bases covered as possible. No business is even allowed to re-open unless it passes a rigid sanitation inspection and certfication process…not just that it’s clean, but also so that protocols are in place to maintain that standard including re-training all staff members.
The other side is that they also want to protect themselves from outsiders, especially visitors from the U.S. where Covid-19 is much much more rampant than here in Mexico.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of June 29-July 6, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Nice looking bunch of fish for the day from Ismael Hernandez and Paul Rodriguez holding with two bull dorado apiece while fishing out of Bahia Muertos south of La Paz. Both anglers live in La Paz.
Captain Pancho took two of his friends Omar and Chema from La Paz out fishing from Bahia Muertos. They hooked 3 marlin and released 2 of them. This one could not be released but the meat was welcomed by the three families.
One of the marlin released by Captain Pancho and his friends.
There are some good numbers of sizable roosterfish prowling the La Paz beaches right now. Big ones like this one caught by the Barta Family from Colorado was hooked near Punta Arenas while they were staying at Rancho Costa resort. The fish was released.
Captain Ramon ( “Moncho”) with the Tailhunter Fleet took out the son of one of his friends. Young Paul Rodriguez, Jr. from La Paz poses with his great looking bull dorado.
Another local, Erick was out and poses with one of his dorado. Great colors!
More pretty colors and a healthy roosterfish caught and released by Jovani who lives in La Paz.
Alisha Clegg and husband Bennett have fished with us many years and always do well. They started fishing this week just a bit south of us on the East Cape and Palmas de Cortez. They’ll be fishing with us later this week in La Paz. They caught and released 3 striped marlin.
Bennett Clegg in on the action too with another caught and released striper to start the day.
The Cleggs also put some fat football tuna in the box as well. Hopefully, the tuna will follow the Cleggs to La Paz this week.
I could sum it all up in 3 sentences. Fishing is pretty great. Weather is pretty hot. Tourism is slow but getting a little better.
Warm water species typical of this time of year are getting on on the action although truthfully, there’s not really that many folks in town and even fewer that are fishing. Mostly, it’s our captains and friends or locals taking themselves out. The city, like the rest of Baja Sur, has only been open for about 3 weeks now and the wheels are taking a bit to get up-to-speed.
Normally, this would be prime time, but many businesses are still cleaning and sanitizing as well as implementing the health protocols required by the government. Like everywhere else that has opened up their economies, Baja is watching it’s covid infections surge as well. The government says it was not unexpected although they are certainly worried about new spikes, just like in the U.S.
Baja is currently in Level 5 Orange.
Initially, many locals ignored the restrictions about masks and social distancing as well as only 30% maximum occupancy of hotels, restaurants, businesses and beaches. Consequently, this past week, the government has shut down the beaches once again, although they indicated this may only be for a week or two. This pretty much includes all of the beaches from Mulege all the way down the Peninsula. The only exception are the beaches in Cabo San Lucas which remain open. However, in Cabo, they shut down all watersports business like kayaks, booze cruises, parasailing and scuba, but kept sportfishing open.
Sportfishing is not affected in La Paz even with the beaches closed. Hoewever…The La Paz Malecon is also closed except for vehicles and bikes. Likewise, alcohol sales have been limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
One other thing is the the border between the U.S. and Mexico is still closed through the latter part of July. However, this does NOT apply to travel by plane, rail or boat. That being said, I know lots of folks who seem to have crossed the border going both way via car without any real problem.
Empty beaches once again.
However, the fishing has been fairly solid although things change from day-to-day and place to place. It’s difficult to get a good read on anything since there’s just not the usual boat traffic on the water.
However, blue water species like marlin, tuna and dorado have come in, pretty much marking the summer season as waters get warmer.
Some boats are hooking (and releasing) multiple marlin which are mostly stripers in the 90-120 pound range. One huge black marlin of about 400 pounds was landed by some commercial fishermen in a panga when the massive fish got tangle in the grapples of their anchor and anchor line.
Dorado numbers are increasing as well with quality fish up to about 30 pounds which we normally don’t see this early. With lots of bait along the beaches, roosterfish and other jacks such as pompano and jack crevalle are providing great inshore action. Some of the roosterfish are running between 50 and 70 pounds and most getting released.
Bottom fishing on the reefs is producing pargo, snapper, cabrilla and triggerfish.
CRAZY STORY
Commercial fishermen were out in a panga when this huge black marlin estimated at maybe 400 pounds got tangled in their anchor lines and snagged itself on the grapple hooks of the anchor. Check out the photo and the two videos! In the photo, you can see the anchor!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for May 7-14, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Maybe the La Paz Malecon will be open after May 30th? Almost feels like there should be some tumbleweeds blowing across the street.
Police checkpoints are still in effect with “supposedly” only 2 persons per car and an 8 p.m. curfew.
A man in a beer store stands behind a sign reading “I don’t have beer” following the shortage of beer, after the breweries countrywide closed their production due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Monterrey, state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on May 5, 2020. (Photo by Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP) (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
View of empty fridges and freezers in a store due to the shortage of beer, after the breweries countrywide closed their production due to the COVID-19 coronavirus in Monterrey, state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on May 5, 2020. (Photo by Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP) (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
TUEDAY May 12- Mexico recorded it’s highest number of deaths for a single day of 353 fatalities. (Mexico Daily News)
Short story…no fishing to report. Ports and Marinas still closed down as well as beaches and hotels.
So…
Since the beginning of the Baja quarantine, I’ve been doing my best to keep y’all posted. Folks are asking where I’m getting my info. As I may have mentioned, I’ve become a news junkie lately.
For my wife and I and our employees in Mexico, our livlihood and your vacations depend on it.
So, here’s some links below that have daily updates. The three newspapers are in Spanish, but will translate to English automatically. Might not be grammatically correct all the time, but you’ll get the idea.
One thing you’ll notice is that what the governor of one Mexican state says is often different from what the Mexican President says…is different from what a city mayor says…is different from what the business people say…and is completely different from what the health officials and doctors say.
And everyone LOVES to point fingers!
The curve is up…the curve is down. This is “under control.” We are “not ready for this.” It’s the “President’s fault.” We don’t care “what the government says.” Face masks work. Face mask don’t work. Blah blah blah…
Sound familiar? As different as we are, the more we are the same.
_______________
As of today:
Mexico – more than 40,000 cases / more than 4,000 deaths/ more than 123,000 suspected cases
State of Baja Norte (Tijuana, Ensenada/ Mexicali/ San Felipe ) 2,300 cases/ 365 deaths
State of Baja Norte (Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Mulege) 373 cases/ 22 deaths
The Baja quarantine is still in effect until May 30th, with health officials saying the next week or two will be the apex of the pandemic.
HOWEVER…just as I was putting this report together, the governor or Southern Baja, Carlos Mendoza Davis, and the health officials are now saying they probably will NOT re-open June 1 as it is one of several Mexican states where the virus has not flattened.
Great site updated daily. It chronicles almost a daily diary of the progression of the disease in Mexico from day 1 to the current day. If you like charts, graphs and maps, this is a one-stop information source.
COVID 19 DASHBOARD by Johns Hopkins University COVID 19 MEXICO by Johns Hopkins University
Incredible interactive maps of every country, city, state, province, county IN THE WORLD that is infected with the statistics charted every day. You can spend hours on these. But, completely interactive press, click, enlarge, scan…very thorough.
Takes a bit getting used to having Spanish translated to English, but this covers La Paz/ Cabo/ Loreto/ Mulege and areas in between with headline news, government, politics, sports, tourism, etc. Stories are short and concise.
Good writing and in English! Short stories like a smaller version of USA TODAY. Main stories are free. A few of the more in-depth stories you need a subscription for $2.50 a month. But, I haven’t needed it yet. I think even if COVID wasn’t around, I think I would enjoy this website.
This site IS EXACTLY like reading USA TODAY. Lots of good short articles about Baja, Mexico from news to sports to culture plus international news.
By the way, because a lot of these articles are translated from Spanish, “PEACE” is actually “LA PAZ” which is the the word for “Peace.” So, whenever you see that they are referring to the City of La Paz.
In a past life many many galaxies and lifetimes ago, I was a TV, radio and newspaper reporter. I was also a litigation attorney. There’s always several sides to every story. I learned to read and watch ALOT of different sources. Everyone slants their news or their version of events one way or the other, either intentionally or unintentionally.
You’re really doing yourself a disservice if you only get your news and stories from one source. That’s why I read from so many different sources and suggest you do the same. You’re smart enough that you can sort out what’s truly relevant to you and where each source if really coming from. Kinda like if you only get your news from CNN or FOX or only read the Los Angeles Times, etc.
My personal opinion, for what it’s worth, is that Baja Sur is gearing up to open after May 30th. That includes restaurants, hotels and other facilities.
Many locals have been ignoring the restrictions from the beginning or finding ways to circumvent the quarantine whether that be having private parties; descending on the beaches; using social media to find their way around police roadblocks, operating past curfews and blackmarketing “non-essential items.” Once businesses start re-opening, it’s going to be hard to shut them down again. Or keep people inside. Even if that is in defiance of the quarantine.
Remember, this isn’t like the U.S. There’s alot of people living together in small spaces. There’s often no TV. There’s no internet. Without work, there is no food. I think they will have a difficult time keeping people inside.
But…also, just because businesses re-open does NOT mean tourists, the lifeblood of the economy, will return in right away or in big numbers. That’s the key. Hotels and restaurants might unilaterally shut themselves down if no one shows up.
And then again, it begs the question on all our our minds. What will the new “NORMAL” be like?
I think fishing will be just fine.
But, if beaches are technically still closed. If restaurants are still closed or no one is in them? If the bars and clubs aren’t really open or if not really anyone is on the street, that’s all part of the vacation and fun…it’s the “BAJA EXPERIENCE.” Will tourists still come? Will fishermen still come?
Your guess is as good as mine.
We are planning to be back home the first week of June…all things considered.
Hope you find these interesting and informative.
That’s my story! God bless. Be well. Stay well, amigos!
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter International, 8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178, La Mesa CA 91942Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: https://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/Tailhunter YouTube Video Channel:
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of March 30-April 6, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Scott McClure was fishing with local friends before the shutdown and caught our first rooster fish of the season near Cerralvo Island. The fish was released. Captain Beto from La Ventana was running the panga.
When you’re staying at your dad’s place at Bahia Muertos, it’s easier to get in a little early evening fishing. Miles Wagner’s dad owns the Rancho Costa resort in Bahia Muertos near La Paz and got out to fish the nearby rocks where the big pargo have shown up. They lost quite a few of the tough fish even with their drags buttoned down, but Miles put this big pargo liso (mullet snapper) in the boat. Miles normally lives in Colorado Springs CO, but with school closed down, he’s spending the off-time fishing in Baja.
Phil Perrone from Oregon was out with our La Paz amigo, Keith Wiliams, where they worked that area on the east side of Cerralvo Island and boated a few nice yellowtail like this one.
He’s always into fish! Keith Williams moved to La Paz a couple of years ago and is able to spend a fair amount of time fishing. He took some friends out before the lockdown last week and added this schoolie dorado to the fish box.
Gary Wagner sits in a sweet spot at his place in Muertos Bay, Rancho Costa and he’s on prime waters. He got this rare hawkfish (china maru) just down the beach off the rocks fro his place.
Roger and Captain Hugo both wore masks while fishing but took his off for this pose with his yellowtail.
Hard to believe that dorado this big are running around in April, but Tailhunter Captain, Luis Martinez took this big bull north of La Paz.
Like everywhere else, the world has changed drastically in Baja which finally jumped in to full-lockdown this past week.
Good news is that the fish are biting and there’s alot of variety. Some of the best fishing of the season.
The bad news is that the only ones fishing are locals or folks who have their own boats. All commercial and Sportfishing activities have been banned. By national decree, all the beaches and public beaches are shut down. All hotels have closed as of April 5 until 30th (but maybe longer). Any one hanging out, we evicted.
All restaurants are closed. The La Paz Malecon is closed. All the ports have closed. In Cabo, and a number of other cities all alcohol sales of any kind have been prohibited. In some cities, even drinking alcohol is now being stopped. La Paz is probably not far behind.
On land and water, sadly, it’s a ghost town and the military and police are enforcing the restrictions. Many people are expecting a curfew soon.
But, on the water, the fish haven’t been on lockdown. It’s like Murphy’s Law.
We’re seeing our first roosterfish of the season. The big mullet snapper (pargo liso) have started to spawn and are showing up in the shallows. Dorado between 10 and 30 pounds are cruising through the warmer currents. Closer inshore, cabrilla, snapper and sierra are holding. There are also all the bonito you could want and yellowtail up to about 25 pounds can be found around structure, banks and reefs. And, there’s live bait too! Oh, and the weather has been pretty good too with temps in the low to mid-80’s although some very strong winds are predicted for this week.
RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES (always wanted to say that)…
Just to give you a quick nutshell of what’s going on in Mexico, here’s some bullet points of information. Just please keep in mind that things are changing daily and rapidly. Anything you read here might and probably will have changed by the time you are reading this:
The Mexican government is finally asking folks to stay home although President Obrador continues to go out meeting and hugging people and shaking hands ignoring his own edicts. His own health officials say it’s too little to late.
The government this week has officially closed all beaches, public areas and non-essential businesses.All hotels in the nation will be closed from April 5-30th. Anyone trying to stay has/ will be evicted. Staffs have been sent home. Administrators are trying to work from home. So, all La Paz hotels are now shuttered.
The government shut down the beaches and public areas because when schools and businesses were closed last week, many people decided it was “vacation” time and thousands headed to the beach.Mexico does not have many outbreaks…so far…and less than 100 fatalities. However, experts do not find the statistics reliable because Mexico does not have the means to test many people.
The La Paz Malecon has been shut down. Army and police are enforcing the lockdown.
All restaurants have closed.
Mexico has 133 million people, but only 400 ICE beds. High obesity, diabetes and heart disease are rampant in the population which is between 10 and 15% of the population.
Many places are ignoring the requirements for social distancing. About 60% of the working population are from the “unofficial economic sector” and work day-to-day and hand-to-mouth existence as vendors, laborers, street works. If they stop work, they don’t eat.As many as
10 million Mexicans do not have access to water so “washing hands” is pretty much out’ve the question.
A growing number of cities, including Cabo San Lucas have banned all alcohol sales completely. The fear is that with so many people locked-down, violence from drinking will increase.
A number of breweries such as Corona/Modelo have or are shutting down since there are no distributions points any longer. Some of the breweries are converting to manufacturing anti-bacterial gel.
Panic buying has already started. But, it is not toilet paper. People are starting to go crazy buying cartloads of beer and hoarding.
Some Mexican cities are blocking the roads so no outsiders may enter. The government says it is illegal but locals are putting up roadblocks.
Airports are generally open, but there are very very few flights with many airlines canceling services.
There is a growing interest to close the borders of Mexico to Americans so they don’t bring down more infections.
Mexico is asking Americans to please stay home.A group of 70 University of Texas students flew a charter to Cabo San Lucas on spring break. When they came back 44 of them tested positive for the virus.
Many Americans were shooting across the border from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to shop in Mexico which has not had the depletions of goods in grocery stores. That being said, places like Costco have huge lines and are now limiting customers.The U.S. State Department is telling all Americans to come home immediately or be prepared to stay in Mexico for an indefinite period of time.
SADLY ADIOS TO OUR TAILHUNTER RESTAURANT AFTER 13 YEARS…
LOTS OF FUN TIMES!
It’s been a difficult several weeks trying to keep Tailhunter Restaurant open. Jilly worked tirelessly trying to make it go using only “take out” but more importantly to save everyone’s jobs. Many of our employees have been with us for many great years.
With the national closing of ALL restaurants, there were not many options.
We resolved it to the best of our capabilities. Cantina is officially closed indefinitely.
The nation has closed all restaurants until April 30th. Then, they think this will all go away. We know better. Mexico hasn’t even begun to get sick yet.
Closing was the in the best interests of our staff and economically better for us than keep going 30 days…then another 30 days…ad infinitum bleeding money because we would still have the same costs plus having to pay everyone their full salaries. We were not allowed to lay anyone off during the pandemic.
However, by completely closing the restaurant, we are best able to take care of the employees so they do not have to worry. They have money and we continued their health insurance. It’s not like they have other places to find work right now with everything closed.
Consequently…
We paid all employees three full months generous salaries, with full benefits, all earned and accrued vacations and bonuses. They can go home and sit this out safely and not have to wait for the other shoe to drop and should have a buffer to find work on the other side. They are all highly skilled, trained and prized food and beverage industry workers. The best we could do for them…
When the dust settles on this Covid mess, we will then turn all attention, time and talent to getting the fishing company up and running full steam asap. 60 more families of captains, drivers, caterers and managers are counting on us, not even to mention the resorts and their staff, taxi drivers etc…..
We are tremendously touched by the outpouring of sentiments via e-mails, phone calls and social media from around the world as well as our La Paz community. Tailhunter Nation is the best!
Let’s get on the other side of this as soon as possible! In the meantime please be well and stay well. Take care of each other.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 9-16, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Just a great photo! They got blown off the first day but hung in there and went out despite waves and strong winds (check out Jan’s hair and Art’s hoodie). However, first-timer Jan Paisley and Art Flippin from Colorado went out dragging a Rapala hoping something would bite and this big 70-pound yellowfin tuna chomped the line! They were just off Punta Arenas with Cerralvo Island in the background. Surprise catch for this time of year!
Our good amigos, Donna and Roger Thompson from La Ventana found some mackerel on the east side of Cerralvo Island and hung some nice yellowtail before the macks disappeared and the winds came back up.
Colorful dorado just outside Punta Perrico for Jan. The fish was taken to our Tailhunter Restaurant to be cooked up!
Escaping -30 degree weather up in Alberta, Canada, Sheri Maitland found sunshine and a school of dorado like this one just inside La Paz Bay on one of the calmer days.
Unusual fish for this time of year because dorado are warm water fish, Brad Bowdon got this bull fishing out’ve La Paz. Brad’s from Canada.
That’s a tasty barred pargo for first-timer, Jan Paisley from Colorado with a big smile!
It looks a bit choppy out there and chilly, but Stu Maitland has a firm gaff in this nice dorado.
It was a weird unusual, but not unusual week, if that makes sense. Yes, it was typically windy as if often the case this time of year and “cold” on top of it (by Mexico standards!). Locals were bundled up while tourists visiting La Paz for sunshine were walking around in shorts and t-shirts.
However, as far as the wind was concerned, it blew hard some areas some days and less so in other areas. And, of course, it affected the fishing. Some folks fishing one area pretty much got blown off the water or had to cancel trips. Others found some decent windows to get lines wet, even if only temporarily before winds shifted and the waves just got too rough and choppy.
Fortunately, this time of the year, there aren’t that many folks fishing.
However, for the few folks out that were able to get on the water…even for a short time, there were some decent catches.
For our anglers fishing the Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Cerralvo Island areas, there were the occasispeonal dorado and we even got a surprising chunky tuna that ran about 70 pounds taken on a trolled Rapala. On the East side of Cerralvo Island, there was a quick jag of yellowtail that ran 15-25 pounds, especially if you got into the live mackerel that temporarily schooled up.
Inshore, pargo, cabrilla and jack crevalle provided some fun entertainment.
For our anglers that were able to get out of the Bay and head north towards Espirito Santo Island, some yellowtail were also found, but it was pretty rough getting out there. Fortunately, there were some school-sized dorado just inside the bay that could be caught with most fish going about 10 pounds. But, it was stil pretty rough out there.
And more…BAHIA MAGDALENA!
A table full of great fillets coming up including pargo, snapper, corvina and grouper for our amiga Verda Boyd after her first day fishing the mangroves.
Another nice pargo in the boat caught by Natalie Nazareno. You can see the mangroves in the background.
We sent some anglers out with our Bahia Magdalena outfit. It was also too windy to fish outside the bay and work the ridge for yellowtail and grouper. However, inshore among the mangroves in the shallows, the fishing was spectacular. They got almost a dozen species! These included grouper, several species of pargo, snapper and seabass as well as corvina all on light tackle.
Jorge Romero, sporting his Santa beard, pulled this grouper out’ve the tangle of mangrove roots.
Tim Zimmer with a hard fighting pargo that ate a hooked shrimp.
All by herself! Bella Nazareno hooked and fought all of her fish by herself including this fat pargo!
One day…lots of variety!
Captain Rigo poses with Verda and another pargo for the cooler!
Also, the whales have been late arrivals for the whalewatching season, but more whales are finally showing up in Bahia Magdalena not far from where we’re fishing these days. Let us. know and we can set you up with a great whalewatching trip.
ROAD TOUR TAILHUNTER 2020 – THANK YOU SALT LAKE CITY!
Just finished the Western Hunt and Conservation Show at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It was 4 crazy days of madness and fun! We just wanted to give a shout-out to all our Utah folks for the great hospitality and all the Tailhunter Nation members who came out to see us! We had some of the best days of any of the 5 shows we’ve done this year. Reservations to come fish with us in 2020 were off-the-charts and we’re looking forward to all the visits! Thanks to everyone!
Next up…the grand-daddy show of the West Coast… It’s the 74th Annual Fred Hall Fishing and Boating Show at the Long Beach Convention Center March 4-8! Come see us. Click the link below!
If you’re headed to La Paz, don’t forget that Carnival starts Feb. 21 and goes through the 26th with lots of parades, fireworks, food and major partying! The Tailhunter Restaurant on the Malecon is a great place to catch all the parades!
That’s our story! Hope you had a super Valentine’s Day!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 12-19, 2020
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Some good eating sierra on board for Robert Boyd from Colorado.
Gary Wagner, our amigo, who owns the Rancho Costa Resort in Muertos has himself a handful or winter dorado.
All the way from Alaska, winter is a little different in Baja! Mic Ward shows off one of her sierra.
It’s been COLD in La Paz this past week along with some windy weather. The winds are expected this time of year, but it’s been colder than normal…at least by La Paz standards with us locals bundling up and even the tourists donning the occasional sweatshirt or windbreaker. Although most look at us kinda strange as they walk around in shorts and flip-flops.
Lots of snowbirds in town and although the temps are in the 60’s and 70’s with the wind, it’s still a lot warmer than where they live back in places like Minnesota, Wyoming and Alaska!
The climate, of course, affects the ability to be out there fishing. It’s been hard to put anyone out there and there’s not that many folks wanting to fish anyway. Or, folks that want to fish understandably get discouraged when they see the winds. Best to just hang out drinking a margarita by the pool!
When folks have been fishing, the better fishing has been tucked in close to shore, especially in areas where you can find some protection from wind and waves. Therefore, the majority of the fish have been inshore specias like cabrilla, snapper, triggerfish, pargo, jack crevalle and sierra. All fun and good eating fish.
Sierra have a moutful of choppers! Best to use wire when you fish them!
When there are window’s of calm, there’s still some dorado around running to about 10 or 15 pounds plus some good action on 5-pound bonito. The larger issue has been finding live bait in which case lures are the most productive way to catch fish. With rough waters it’s tough to get into the areas where the live bait is holding along the shores and rocks.
I’ve heard a few stories about commercial guys finding some yellowtail as well as some private boaters. We’ll keep an eye on that!
TAILHUNTER ROAD TOUR 2020 !
We finished the Denver Sportsmans Show two weeks ago then just wrapped up another fantastic show at the California Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento CA.
That drive from Denver to Sacramento was incredible! In almost 3 decades driving to and from these shows, this was some of the craziest driving we ever had, especially through Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. We went through several blizzards where it was white-out conditions and almost zero visibility! Plus winds blowing 60-70 mph. All kinds of trucks and cars spinning off the road and flipping over. Check out this video:
Packed to the gills, Jonathan, Jill and Catlyn (the Mexican Pocket Panther)
Jill “Mustang Sally” after a long long drive through the snow and ice!
So, by the time you’re reading this, we’ll be on the highway again going north from Sacramento towards Seattle. We’ll be at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup WA for the Washington Sportsmans Show which starts Wednesday and goes to Sunday. Lots to see and do for the entire family! Come see us. We’ll be in our Tailhunter booth for all 5 days. We’ll get you set up on your 2020 La Paz fishing vacation!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Dec. 15-29, 2019
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Typical winter rack of fish. Bonito, snapper, pargo and some nice cabrilla for the ice chest!
The rocks are holding some nice cabrilla right now…if you can pull them from their hiding spots! They’re feisty fish when hooked.
Mostly a quiet Christmas and holiday week in La Paz. Sun’s out. Occasionally some showers and breezy. Most folks in town aren’t here to fish or hit the water. Those that are in town for watersports are windsurfers and kiteboarder taking advantage of the strong winter winds. Or they’re here to swim with the whalesharks in the bay.
The few that are out fishing are mostly finding action inshore along the rocks and beaches.
It’s not bad fishing at all. There’s been a decent bite on some nice cabrilla up to about 10 pounds with most in the 2-5 pound range and lots of little ones getting released. Snapper were also on the chew. All good fish for the table. The biggest issue is getting live bait. If waters are rough and winds are blowing, getting live bait in the shallow areas where the bait school-up can be problematic. If bait is an issue, slow trolling small crankbaits like Rapalas, Rebels, Yo-Zuri, Mirolures or similar can still be very productive and fun.
Moving slightly offshore, bonito are still there for some harder battles as well as jack crevalle. There’s a chance of an occasional dorado as well. I’m surprised we aren’t getting into more sierra as this is the time of year we should be getting them, but perhaps we’ll see more as the waters get cooler.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 1-8, 2019
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
The Big Picture and the Rest of the Story…
Amigo, Roger Thompson made it out to the south end of Cerralvo Island between bouts of wind and trolled up this nice wahoo.
Roger was pulling a dark Rapala looking for wahoo when this hefty yellowfin tuna ripped his line.
Typical catch right now…some inshore reef fish like the cabrilla and trigger fish; mix in some bonito and a bonus dorado. All close to shore.
Not too many folks fishing these days in the gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas and town almost seemed deserted this week, but the crowds will eventually come.
The city is nicely moving into Christmas mode!
Winds were a little milder than normal so some folks were able to get out fishing. Most of the fishing was inshore for jack crevalle, snapper, and cabrilla, although some larger pargo were reportedly lost. Bonito schools can be problematic or a lot of fun depending on your point of view.
There are still some small schools of dorado running around with most fish in the 10-15 pound class.
When winds are down, there’s some good action with bait on light tackle for some nicer grade of tuna in the 40-80 pound range that can be tough battles on the smaller line that get them to bite. Rapalas like the darker deep-runners also kicked up some wahoo.
Tailhunter Fish Report 